The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Francis Fannon, a former head of corporate affairs at mining company BHP Billiton and senior director of Murphy Oil Corp , to head the department's energy bureau.

The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will shortly launch piped natural gas (PNG) for houses and compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport sector in Patna. The project is coming up as part of the Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana, which will connect the eastern and north-eastern states to the national gas grid, said GAIL public relations executive Jyoti Kumar on Friday.

GAIL India has signed a deal to buy 3.5 million tonne a year of LNG for 20 years from Cheniere Energy of the US and has also booked capacity for another 2.3 MT at Dominion Energy's Cove Point liquefaction plant.

Perry, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, was asked about reports the US is considering a nuclear technology-sharing agreement that wouldn’t prohibit the Saudis from enriching nuclear fuel into weapons-grade materials.

Researchers at University of Michigan (UM) in the US invented a method to simultaneously synthesise and deposit crystalline semiconductor films from water at room temperatures using equipment that can be assembled for just a few dollars.

Though sections had hoped that there would be a high voltage climate deal, on the lines of the US-China agreement in November, Sunday's joint statement made it clear that Washington was mindful of India's development priorities.

India and Russia signed 20 bilateral agreements in key areas like oil, gas and defence during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi. Russia has been sanctioned by the US and EU for its support of pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea.